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Meet Jim.
He’s not a nurse. He doesn’t get paid to hold up the frontline. But he knows it well.

His mom lives in a personal care home. She’s battling dementia. She doesn’t remember yesterday, but she remembers everything about him when he was little; how he used to play kick ball and jacks. How proud she was of his accomplishments, how much he loved her freshly baked Saskatoon pie.

Every night that he leaves her, he’s spent. He’s disgusted with the system. He knows they can’t keep up.

Every night, as he gets into bed, his heart breaks. Not just for the woman he calls mom, but for the staff.

He sleeps lightly, he’s afraid of each call. He doesn’t want to hear she fell out of bed; or that she’s agitated and won’t take her meds. He doesn’t want to see another new face or hear of one more vacancy.

He wants to fight back; fight for health care, fight for change. Our elders deserve better, he thinks. Our nurses deserve more. But he too is tired. And deflated. Behind his mask, he’s also suffering but mostly of shame. 

Behind his mask, he can’t stop thinking about losing his patience, his temper, or worse, his mom.

Behind Jim’s mask, he’s decided it’s time to vote for change.

Innercourage.ca  |  2022